As Democrat Joe Biden continued to gain ground in ballot counting Thursday in key states, President Donald Trump again cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, peddling conspiracy theories about fraud and suggesting hed easily won the race.

If you count the legal votes, I easily win, Trump falsely claimed, adding without evidence that the election had been marked by historical interference from big media, big money and big tech.

Speaking from the White House, Trump went on to accuse Democrats of trying to steal and rig the election.

Theyre trying obviously to commit fraud, he said.

Again, no evidence supports his claim.

Trump also continued his now months-long attack on mail-in voting, falsely claiming the process was corrupt. Voter fraud of any kind including using mail-in ballots is exceedingly rare in the U.S.. And though the president has repeatedly attempted to cast aspersions on the process, voting by mail has a long history in this country. Even before 2020, voting in five states Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington had been conducted primarily by mail, and dozens of other states allowed no excuse mail-in absentee voting. None of their elections have been contested on the basis of fraud.

Trump additionally claimed prematurely that Republicans have kept the Senate. In fact, a few key Senate races have yet to be called, including in Georgia where the races for both its seats headed for January runoffs. The outcome of those two votes appears likely to determine which party holds a majority in the legislative body.

Trump took note of surprise GOP successes in the election including gains in House seats as he accused Democrats of cheating. He took no questions after his remarks, and thus could not be asked about this apparent contradiction.

Trumps appearance was his first since early Wednesday, when he addressed the media as the first wave of election results was being reported. Trump at the time baselessly declared victory and falsely claimed hed already won several states in which a clear winner had yet to be determined. He also, without evidence, suggested that the ongoing counting of votes amounted to fraud and should be halted.

Since then, the Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in several states to halt vote counting and disqualify ballots. Judges in at least two states have ruled against his campaign.

Trump vowed on Thursday to continue filing legal challenges.

We think there will be a lot of litigation, he said, adding that its going to end up perhaps at the highest court in the land, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As he departed his podium shouted questions he ignored from reporter included: Are you being a sore loser?

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman contributed reporting.